QUESTION: The blade belt came off my mower deck. There are no instructions in either the owner's nor shop manual for threading the belt through the blade guard near the camshaft.

Looking at the belt guard located on the right side of the camshaft, which way does the belt get threaded from the deck: in front of the left post and then behind the right and onto the pulley, or does the belt come from behind the left and in front of the right, onto the pulley?

See photo for picture of the guard, taken from the right side: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab=eq#photos/101005574063916098014/albums/5814579210353869297

Thanks.

ANSWER: As a general rule, the V side of the belt rides in the V portion of the V pulley. The back or flat side of the belt rides on the flat pulley. Are there any flat face pulleys?

Eric

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My question is not about the pulley; it's about how the belt gets threaded between the vertical sections of the belt guard, as seen in the foreground of the supplied photo. Does the belt enter the pulley from behind the right vertical section of the guard, or is the belt going across the front of the guard? In other words, with respect to the left (see left arrow in photo, towards the tractor's rear) and right (front) sides of the belt guard, how does the belt get threaded? There are only two ways, but I don't want to damage the $50 belt by mounting it incorrectly.

AnswerI did not see any arrow in the picture. Most belt are threaded from the right to the left as the left side of the crankshaft is the slack side of the belt.

I would be more concerned with the wear marks on the belt guard. I see at least 3 places where a belt has been rubbing on the guard. You can tell because the metal is dis-colored and rusted where the belt rubbed at one time. How hard is the belt guard to remove? Often times if I don't know how or which side of the guard the belt goes on I remove the guard, install the belt. With the belt installed place the belt guard in position and see if the belt contacts the belt guard.

Experience

Born and raised in the midwest. Started tinkering with engines when I was about 14 on my Suzuki RM-80. I began lawn mower repair at a small hardware store. I knew absolutely nothing. I read lots of repair manuals and met an older fellow who taught me many lessons. I continued working on small engines through high school and paid my way through college working on mowers at the same hardware store. Decided to get away from the midwest and mower repair so I joined the Air Force. I repaired air traffic control electronic equipment and ended up in Hawaii where I got a part time job at Small Engine Clinic. I gained a lot of experience from the Small Engine Clinic and had a blast repairing small engines. I then took the Briggs and Stratton Master Service Technician test and earned my MST. I then traveled to Wisconsin where I attended the factory update training seminar and received formal training. Continued working on mowers part time as I completed 20 years of military. Retired from the military on a Friday and continued in the lawn and garden industry the next Monday.